Arminda Murillo, 54, reads a leaflet at a health insurance enrollment event in Cudahy, California March 27, 2014. More than 6 million people have now signed up for private insurance plans under President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law known as Ob

The state exchange, Connect For Health Colorado, has operated with federal grants for its first year of operation but will need to be self-sustaining starting January 1. Exchange director Patty Fontneau presented a $65.2 million budget for 2015 to the exchange’s board members on Monday.

Fontneau previously told The Denver Post that the fee on all state insurance policies is actually a reduction in insurer fees. Cover Colorado, a former state plan for high-risk patients with pre-existing conditions was authorized to charge $3.79 per insurance policy each month in order to fund its operations, until it was rolled into the Obamacare exchange in 2014.

The Colorado exchange is authorized by the state legislature to approve the tax on all insurers until 2016. The board approved the new tax on Monday by a vote of 7 to 1.

On top of a flat fee charged on each and every monthly premium — likely to be passed onto consumers — Colorado also hopes to generate funding for 2015 by charging a tax of 1.4 percent on exchange Obamacare exchange customer’s monthly premium. The enrollment or administrative fee is expected to raise $6.9 million for the 2015 budget.